Due to technological progress and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers have increasingly turned to online shopping. This was accompanied by the rapid development of new methods of short-term financing, such as Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services, which allow customers to pay for purchases at a later date than the date of receipt. In Poland, financing is interest-free for a certain period, generally 30 days, after which interest charges apply.

The latest amendments to the Polish Code of Civil Procedure regarding interim relief in intellectual property cases, among other matters, entered into force on July 1, 2023. Interim injunction proceedings are crucial when the parties wish to quickly prevent further infringement of their intellectual property rights and obtain protection for the duration of the main legal proceedings. The main purpose of these proceedings is essentially to secure claims, i.e., to obtain a ruling (order) in which the court will order the opposing party to act in a certain way or prohibit certain actions.

Schoenherr has advised Borealis AG on the agreement to purchase Bulgarian polyethylene and polypropylene recycler Integra Plastics. Boyanov & Co and CMS reportedly advised on the deal as well.

In import-export transactions across Europe, it is common for sellers to protect the assets they have sold by retaining the ownership title until the buyer has paid the full purchase price. Retention of title allows sellers to reclaim the assets if the buyer fails to pay, and even if the buyer goes bankrupt before payment is made. In Hungary, however, such an arrangement can lead to unpleasant surprises for sellers.

CMS has advised Astronergy on the acquisition of the Karlovo and Novi Pazar greenfield solar projects in Bulgaria, with a combined capacity of 120 megawatts. Schoenherr reportedly advised the sellers.

Schoenherr has announced it is expanding its Warsaw office with the addition of a team of 23 lawyers, including seven partners, as of February 2024. The move includes Partners Szymon Okon, Pawel Chyb, Ilona Fedurek, Tomasz Kwasniewski, Katarzyna Solarz, Katarzyna Szczudlik, and Marcin Czaprowski from SSW Pragmatic Solutions.

Schoenherr has advised EHL Immobilien on the sale of the entire stake in EHL Immobilien Management to PMV Holding, a member of the IMV Immobilien Management Group.

Schoenherr has signed new legal services and partnership agreements to continue providing pro bono legal advice to Concordia – an independent NGO supporting children, young people, and families in need in Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, Kosovo, and Austria – which the firm has been supporting for the past 15 years.

In recent years we have seen major infrastructure projects in the Eastern Balkans, ordinarily based on International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) standards, face significant delays and impediments due to complex decision-making processes.

Schoenherr has advised ABC Technologies Holdings subsidiary ABC Automotive Poland on the sale of its business to a subsidiary of ETM International. GetSix and Ashurst reportedly advised ETM in Poland and Germany.

Schoenherr has advised ProPellets Austria on a dawn raid by the Austrian Federal Competition Authority and its subsequent investigation into the Austrian pellets market. 

We can all think of names like Champagne or Feta cheese that are intrinsically linked to the geographical origin of a product and the know-how of its producers, often passed on over many generations.

Schoenherr has announced it is promoting Iustin Armasu, Christoph Cudlik, Michael Marschall, and Teresa Waidmann to Partners, as of February 2024. 

The Hungarian Competition Authority (HCA) recently published a draft report on its findings based on an accelerated sector inquiry into Hungary's online accommodation booking market. The sector inquiry was launched on 24 August 2023 after the HCA received numerous complaints during the peak summer holiday season about the practices of Booking.com, a key market player, for withholding payments to accommodation providers.

Some significant amendments to the Hungarian Competition Act have entered into force. The Hungarian Competition Authority (HCA) has been very active recently in various sectors. This summary briefly describes the most important changes. Some of the changes require an update to the compliance materials for Hungary.

Kinstellar and Schoenherr have announced that PowerChina's acquisition of a 51% stake in the Vetrozelena wind farm from CWP Europe has now closed.

On November 3, 2023, Zivkovic Samardzic announced that the sale of Eurobank Direktna Beograd to AIK Banka (reported by CEE Legal Matters on March 8, 2023) had closed upon receipt of the necessary regulatory approvals.

Deloitte Legal has advised Immofinanz on its sale of office properties in Wienerberg, Vienna, to S Immo. Dorda reportedly advised Immofinanz as well. Schoenherr reportedly advised S Immo.